Hometeam Division 2 football: Smiley leads potent St. John's offense

Friday

Oct 11, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Tom Flanagan Division 2 football

The points are piling up, and his team has posted three straight victories, but it's something other than numbers that indicate to St. John's High quarterback Drew Smiley that the Pioneers' vaunted high-tempo offense is clicking.

"You can see the other team's defense just dragging at times," said Smiley, a senior captain who has led St. John's to a 3-1 record and a No. 3 ranking in the Hometeam media poll. "Against Catholic Memorial (in Week 2), one of the defensive lineman threw up between plays, so we knew we were wearing them out."

The Pioneers' no-huddle attack has the potential to destroy any defense, especially with Smiley as the triggerman. St. John's, which has scored 33 points per game, erupted for 49 points last weekend, when the Pioneers snapped Nashoba Regional's 29-game winning streak.

"Drew has done a nice job of learning the offense and making the correct read," St. John's coach John Andreoli said. "He's worked well with his receivers, but he can also pull the ball down and run. He's 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and runs a 4.4 40, so he's not easy to bring down."

Smiley, who has says he's content with his decision to leave football behind next year when he begins his college lacrosse career at the U.S. Naval Academy, distributes praise for his teammates as efficiently as he distributes passes.

"Our offense is tough to learn, but it's worth the time involved," Smiley said. "The line has done a great job all year, and (offensive coordinator Chris Moriarty) does a great job. In our system, there's always somebody open; the challenge is to find the open guy and make a good throw."

Smiley has thrown for 925 yards and 11 touchdowns and has averaged more than 5 yards per carry.

The Pioneers dropped their season opener to top-ranked Leominster, but since then, Smiley and his skill-position teammates have improved.

"I have a lot of guys who have stepped up and made some big plays," Smiley said. "Michael McGillicuddy has had an incredible year, and is one of the best receivers in Central Mass., and I have playmakers in Davon Jones and T.J. Kelley."

St. John's doesn't rely on Smiley alone, as evidenced by last week's ground attack against Nashoba that featured four rushing TDs from Shane Combs.

Smiley is aware that St. John's is the biggest game on the schedule for many of its Central Mass. opponents, but tonight's game has been circled since last year.

The Pioneers will travel across town to meet Shrewsbury High and seek revenge from the Colonials' 51-46 thriller victory last season.

"I'm a Shrewsbury guy, so playing Shrewsbury is always big," Smiley said. "Even the coaches talk about the Shrewsbury game as a Super Bowl in the middle of the season. We know there's going to be a huge crowd, and it's always a battle when we play."

For all the highlight-reel plays and accolades racked up by the St. John's offense, it's the defense — a unit that entered the season as perhaps the team's most glaring question mark — that has made the difference, according to Smiley.

"Our defense has really put together some great games, and they're giving us the chance to win every week," Smiley said.

Tomahawk minds meet

When putting together his staff, Algonquin Regional coach Justin McKay apparently left no part of his contact list — from former players to in-laws — out of consideration.

The Tomahawks boast a large coaching staff, and despite the presence of many bright football minds, the group works cooperatively toward the singular goal of making the program better on a daily basis.

McKay, who worked on the Wachusett Regional staff before taking the Algonquin job last year, brought former Mountaineer players — all of whom aren't much older than the players they're working with — into the fold, including Sean Quinlivan, Jeff Dunn and Sean Phelan.

"We have a big group of coaches with a wide range of experience," said McKay, whose team will be in search of its first win tonight when it travels to Groton-Dunstable Regional. "The nice thing about it is that everybody's opinion matters. They each have different ideas, but the ideas are all designed to get to the point where we have the system we're looking for in place."

McKay feels he got a steal when he was able to land Westboro's Mark Allen. Allen, the son of the late former Holy Cross coach Dan Allen, is the Tomahawks' defensive coordinator.

"Mark is one of the best defensive coaches in Central Mass., and he does so much behind-the-scenes work to make the program better and to help the kids along," McKay said.

In his days with Wachusett, McKay was involved with some classic battles with Fitchburg High, and his respect for that program and former coach Ray Cosenza allowed some ex-Red Raiders — Jeremy Kimber and brothers Nick and Tim McNamara — to get their feet in coaching door.

"The hard work the coaches have put in has really shown," said McKay, who also counts former Marlboro star Nick Boschetto among his assistants. "We all have to learn to finish games and play a complete game, and when we do that, the results will start to present themselves on the field."

The Tomahawks also have plenty of experience on the sideline in James Finn and Tom McDavitt.

Finn, who coached at Framingham South High in the 1960s, works with the defensive backs and, as a certified strength coach, has augmented Algonquin's weight room activities.

McDavitt, who happens to be McKay's father-in-law and a former standout kicker at Tufts, volunteers his time working with the Algonquin special teams, including its kickers.

With a number of big games on the schedule this weekend, one rivalry game that will go a long way in determining the Division 2 playoff picture may have slipped under the radar.

Marlboro, which at 4-0 cracked the Top 10 for the first time this season at No. 9, will host No. 5 Nashoba tonight.

The Chieftains will look to get back on the winning track, while the Panthers will face their toughest test to date.

The Nashoba defense allowed three touchdown passes to St. John's last week, and the Chieftains likely will be tested again. Marlboro quarterback John Rumney ranks third in Central Mass. in touchdown passes (11) and yards (780) and has top-notch targets in Jose Caquias and Matt Thall.